The Hindu Business Line : Sneha Media ties up with TV9 for news content

SNEHA Media and Entertainment, the US-based company that runs Sneha TV, has tied up with TV9, a Telugu news channel, to use latter's news content for the benefit of huge expatriate Telugus in the US.

Announcing this at a press conference here, Mr Ramesh Annamreddy, President and CEO of Sneha Media, said the tie-up enabled the company to air TV9's news content for 19 hours instantaneously.

"We are looking at the European and Australian markets in the next phase," he said.

The European operations would start from the July-end.

The agreement with TV9 would hold good for other regions as well.

The pact was on for the last two months on a pilot basis. Telecast through DTH (Direct-to-Home platform) on Globecast, the hourly news bulletins went well with the audience, he said.

"A survey conducted by us showed that most of the viewers were reluctant to watch movies and serials on our channel as they expected quality entertainment," he said.

He attributed the reluctance largely to the availability of films in DVD form.

The company had put in $1.5 million on the channel. "We are planning to raise $2 million through venture capital firms," Mr Annamreddy said.

The company planned to set up studios in all major cities in the US and in Hyderabad.

Mr V. Ravi Prakash, Chief Executive Officer of TV9, said the channel disproved the sceptics that audience watched only stereotyped serials and other run-of-the-mill entertainment programmes. "We showed that a news channel would go well with audiences," he said.

He, however, said news meant not just political news. "We will have content that would touch lives of all."

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